Cebu to have 3 more airports?

CEBU, Philippines — Initial steps are being undertaken to develop the airstrip in the Camotes Islands into a community airport, officials said after an ocular inspection yesterday.

If everything goes according to plan, the airport in Camotes will become the fourth in Cebu after the existing Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and the proposed community airports in Bantayan and Medellin towns, both in northern Cebu.

At the moment, MCIA and the Cebu provincial government are initiating baby steps towards entering a partnership to develop the Camotes airport.

Joining Governor Gwendolyn Garcia during the inspection yesterday were MCIA Authority general manager Steve Dicdican and GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. president Louie Ferrer.

Dicdican disclosed that MCIA plans to transform the 1.8-kilometer Camotes airstrip into a community airport, taking inspiration from the one in Bantayan, which is also being developed.

“We're looking at the possibility of first doing a community airport similar to that of Bantayan and eventually grow it to a commercial airport,” he said.

Garcia, for her part, said that the development of the airport would open Camotes to many economic and tourism opportunities.

She said investors usually consider the presence of an airport in deciding to pour in their investments in a specific area.

“In terms of investment and tourism, an airport… would certainly (usher in) huge opportunities for Camotes to be developed,” Garcia said.

She said the presence of Ferrer and other Mactan airport officials at the inspection “was a good start.” It was the first time GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport officials joined an on-site visit.

Ferrer, in a separate interview, said he is seeing so much potential in Camotes having its own airport.

“Based on this, daghan og opportunities kay dako ang lugar (there are many opportunities because the place is big),” he said.

Ferrer added that they will also be looking into various tourism opportunities in Camotes.

Garcia said she will sit down with representatives from the MCIAA and the GMRMCA to determine the parameters of the prospective partnership for the Camotes airport.

She, however, stressed that whatever development that comes with it, the same should be accompanied with sustainable environmental practices.

This is why, according to Garcia, she has been urging the local government units of Pilar, Poro, San Francisco and Tudela to forge their master plans and the Comprehensive Land Use Programs (CLUPs).

The Camotes airstrip sits on a 27-hectare property in Barangay Northern Poblacion in San Francisco town.

Meanwhile, Dicdican and a team from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines also made an ocular inspection at the proposed site of another community airport in Cebu in Medellin, 120 kilometers south of Cebu City.

The area proposed for the airport is in Barangay Caputatan Sur.

In its Facebook page, the municipality announced that the team discussed and agreed to carry out plans to meet the standards of a commercial airport.

Once realized, it is expected to spur growth in the town and other neighboring areas, the post read. (FREEMAN)